View full sizeStaten Island Advance/Virginia N. SherryThis private home at 69 Delafield Place in Livingston was designated a NYC landmark in 1967.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- This hideaway Gothic Revival-style stone home — across the street from Walker Park — dates back to the mid-1800s and carries historic pedigree.

Designated a NYC landmark in 1967, the eight-room residence, with 23-inch-thick walls, was designed by Dr. Samuel MacKenzie Elliott, who was born in Scotland and gained professional and political prominence as a resident on Staten Island's North Shore.

One of 15 houses that Dr. Elliott built in the area, this one "is a straightforward ashlar granite box whose charm is enhanced by a serpentine verge-board along its gabled roof."

Dr. Elliott, an eye surgeon, immigrated to New York in the early 1830s, and practiced in Manhattan and on Staten Island. John Jacob Astor, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Horace Greeley were among his famous patients.

At the time, the house's property reached the shores of the Kill van Kull, and the area was called Elliottsville.

As a political activist, Dr. Elliott supported the growing anti-slavery movement. The large cellar at 69 Delafield Place — "with a special fireplace for cooking" — reportedly provided safe haven to many African Americans escaping bondage.

Dr. Elliott "organized the 79th Highlanders, a regiment of volunteers, to fight for the North during the Civil War."

Today, the house continues to be a private residence.

This report is based on information from the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, and the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter's "AIA Guide to New York City" (Oxford University Press, 2010)

(Staten Island Gems appears Sundays -- this week is an exception. We'd love to hear from you. What do you consider a Staten Island
Gem, and what can you tell us about it? Email Kacey Semler at
semler@siadvance or post your ideas in the comment section below.)